Gingerbread Pancakes

We had a lovely holiday season, not without its challenges, but lovely just the same. 

Grant's parents were here for three weeks, and my younger sister Anna got to visit for eleven days, overlapping with the grandparents for most of that. 

I think we all managed to get some level of sickness during that time, mainly head and chest colds but also with Ellia (2) getting pink eye and a bacterial eye infection that required antibiotics.

I struggled with knee problems, ending up at an orthopedist, getting X-rays and even an MRI (if you've never experienced one of those, I can tell you that you feel like a torpedo being loaded and even with ear plugs, those machines are incredibly loud.)

Fortunately, I do not have a meniscus tear as expected, but apparently have a condition called Patellar Tracking Disorder.  My treatment is just strengthening and increasing flexibility, supervised by a physical therapist. 

After all of the festivities were over and our guests had all gone, the decorations put away and life beginning to resume normalcy, I picked up my Taste of Home Dec./Jan 2012 issue to browse through again and my attention was drawn to this recipe. 

It sounded so good! 

And who says gingerbread is only for Christmas, anyways?

We have pancakes or waffles almost every Saturday morning, and they're always the same kind.  Basic whole wheat.  Delicious, but ordinary. 

The original recipe called for serving them with "Banana Cream" - which is homemade whipping cream with chopped bananas folded in.  Frankly, that didn't sound too appealing to me.....oh, whipped cream is great, but I think bananas would just spoil it.  Well, we didn't need those extra calories anyways, so I just served the pancakes with a light drizzle of syrup.  They're actually very tasty plain, since they have plenty of sugar in them. 

My family absolutely went nuts over these.  Nuts, I tell you.  Except for Ellia, who wasn't crazy about the Gingerbread Men I made in December either.  Guess she's not a gingerbread sort of gal.

Corban (8) says these are the best pancakes ever and I should never make regular pancakes again.

Grant says they're just fabulous. 

I agree - if a pancake is so tasty you don't mind grabbing a leftover one out of the fridge and eating it cold and plain, that's a pretty darn good pancake. 

I did alter the recipe.....changing the amounts of butter and molasses and ginger. 

Recipe: (adapted from Taste of Home)

Yield: approximately 42 pancakes

1/2 cup butter, softened

1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar (I used light brown sugar)

6 eggs

1/2 cup molasses

5-1/2 cups flour (I used 3 cups whole wheat, 2-1/2 cups all purpose)

4-1/2 tsp. baking power

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

2-1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. ground allspice

4 cups milk

In a very large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in molasses.  Combine flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and allspice; add to the creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. 

Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a hot griddle (I didn't grease it, although it was recommended). Turn when bubbles form on top.  Cook until the second side is golden brown. 

This post is linked to Trick or Treat Tuesday.